Barrier films in medical applications and particularly as used in ostomy applications, typically contain halogens. An example of a material used in such applications is polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC). Although use of that material is satisfactory in many regards, films containing halogens such as chloride and bromide are difficult and costly to recycle. In fact, with increasing environmental awareness, many regulations prohibit the disposal of halogens, thereby further increasing the inconvenience and/or cost of handling used medical products containing halogens.
Many currently known barrier films and particularly those used in certain medical applications, employ one or more layers that contain amorphous cyclic olefin copolymers (COCs). However, incorporating COCs into a thin multilayer film presents a formidable technical challenge, particularly if other characteristics of the film are to be maintained such as flexibility, strength, and ability to be joined with other material(s) to form articles or goods. Accordingly, a need remains for a barrier film that provides comparable or superior odor blocking properties as currently known barrier films, without compromising flexibility, strength, and other characteristics.
Moreover, cyclic olefin copolymers or similar compounds containing norbornene typically exhibit relatively high levels of rigidity such that when polymeric films containing such are subjected to deformation or flexure, the films emit noise from “crinkling” or “rustling” of the film. When such films are used in certain medical applications such as in as ostomy bag, emission of such noise is undesirable. In view of the required barrier properties of the films for such applications, it is not always possible to reduce the concentration or amount of cyclic olefin in the film. Thus, a need exists for one or more strategies by which noise produced by films containing cyclic olefins or norbornene can be reduced.